'I have truly been blessed' : Derry's Bridie Sheridan reflects as she retires from 'rewarding' career

However, many will say it was the thousands of patients, colleagues and those who have had the pleasure of meeting Bridie over the years who were the ones very much blessed.

Ahead of her retirement this week, Bridie sat down with the Journal to reflect on an incredible career, which has won her awards and praise along the way.

Born to a Derry mammy and Dublin father, Bridie spent her early years in the Capital before returning to her mother’s home city, where she completed her education.

At 18 years old, she moved to London to study nursing, which had ‘always been a dream’.

Bridie remained in London for six years, during which time she worked with ‘the best group of girls,’ many of whom she keeps in contact with.

She married and moved back to Derry in the 70s to take up a full- time post as a theatre nurse in Altnagelvin Hospital and after the birth of her first child she transferred to night duty, which was more ‘childcare friendly.’

This was during The Troubles, during which there were ‘immense challenges and high levels of trauma and violence.’

“We had some very busy nights and many major trauma incidents, often with mass casualties. There were new challenges all the time as all bomb blast and gunshot victims came to theatre. There was little recognition at the time of the emotional toll the conflict took on medical and nursing staff but in the absence of official support we developed strong bonds of teamwork and mutual support and adapted to the demands of a conflict zone.

“As well as working two nights we had to work ‘on call’ when there were major trauma events. It was difficult to switch off when you came home at 3 or 4 0’clock in the morning having been exposed to a major trauma incident.”

Bridie tells how the staff developed their own coping strategies and she calls that time ‘my Mills and Boon years.’

“I would sit downstairs and read a chapter before going to bed – that was the depth of concentration I could cope with.”

Bridie worked on night duty for 26 years during which time she experienced personal trauma in her own life. As her children got older, she came off night duty and took a post with Derry Well Woman where she managed the health programmes. This role was her first introduction to community health.

“My role focused on health promotion and disease prevention, which was very different to what I had been doing in the hospital as it fosters a sense of community and addresses health disparities.”

Bridie then enrolled in Magee college to study counselling, achieving an Adv. Diploma.

An ‘unexpected opportunity’ then presented itself, as Altnagelvin was moving towards being a smoke-free hospital. Bridie took up the Specialist Sister role in Stop Smoking Services, providing support to both patients and staff,

“The focus of my work was helping to change people’s thinking as a first step to changing behaviour. I used to tell the nurses how, when I was a student nurse, I had to empty and wash ashtrays from top of patient’s lockers as patients were allowed to smoke in their beds. Nurses nowadays are appalled to hear that.

Bridie also became involved in a self-help group out of work and this ‘opened up a whole new world of volunteering’

“The group was safe, non-judgmental and confidential where people experienced similar losses. I found great healing and friendship within the volunteer team.”

The group was American in origin and had a Regional Board representing teams in England, Scotland and Ireland. Bridie ‘went up through the ranks’ and was elected President of the Regional Board. In this position she regularly attended International Board meetings in America.

“I was continually discovering new skills and talents I didn’t know I had.”

It was during a conference in Omaha in the US that Bridie attended a workshop presented by young people on bereavement that would not only change her life but that of thousands of young people in Derry and beyond.

“I was blown away by the confidence and skills these young people had and how they were able to stand up and deliver presentations to large audiences on their own experiences of grief and pain.”

By the time Bridie was ‘back on Irish soil,’ the seed for a youth programme was sown in her heart and mind. She did lots of research, engaged with professionals and in January 1995, a pilot residential programme for young people in Derry was delivered.

“The young people loved the programme which focuses on sharing feelings and working through the stages of grief. Our motto was: ‘Feelings are neither right nor wrong, good or bad, they just are, it is what you do with them that makes the difference’. The young people grew in confidence delivering presentations in schools, on radio, television and at conferences to large audiences.”

“Youthlife grew exponentially as waiting lists in statutory services soared. A constant theme that emerged on residentials was bereavement through suicide and we developed the Safe Futures residential programme which was funded by the Public Health Agency.”

Bridie worked in a volunteer role for 15 years alongside her day work. In 2006, she was awarded a five-year contract from Big Lottery and Youthlife was founded. She secured a suitable premises in the city and a strong team of staff and volunteers – both adults and young people.

It has been an exceptional success and won the Philip Lawrence Award, which recognises and rewards young people for outstanding contributions to their communities.

Bridie herself was also the recipient of the Derry and Strabane Council award for ‘Woman of the Year’ for her contribution to Youth.

In the 25 years before Bridie left Youthlife, 11,000 young people were helped. After 15 years as a volunteer and 10 years as manager, Bridie decided to retire ‘for the first time’.

“My three daughters were married and I now had grandchildren. I wanted to spend more time with them but after a few months I missed the structure and identity that work gives you. I was a nurse, a health professional, a youth worker and I didn’t feel any of those things any more. I felt sad and missed the accomplishment I got from work.”

Then, the opportunity presented itself to join the team at Kingsbridge as a Recovery Practitioner, which involves direct patient care immediately following surgery.

She has ‘loved’ her eight years working there, with an ‘amazing team of nurses in the recovery department’ and with all the staff.

She outlines how they have a ‘strong team ethos’ and support each other both professionally and personally.

“Throughout my life I have nurtured my own personal ethos of volunteering and that’s fostered by a desire to give back. In our troubled world there are many opportunities to get involved in volunteering and my belief is that ‘you can’t give without receiving.’ I was told by a young volunteer in Youthlife I have a lot of ‘one-liners’ and this is one of them! I actually wrote many of them down. I was told I should write a book with them and I might, some day.”

In 2023 Bridie fulfilled a dream as she was presented with an opportunity to take up a short-term placement in Malawi in Africa.

She tells how many people presented with a type of AIDs-related cancer and many of the patients she and the team worked with lived in remote areas and had no access to medical aid. They were either too ill to travel to hospital or had no money for transport so they would visit them in ambulances to bring pain relief medication, bags of maize and nourishing food.

“It was heartbreaking. Many of the patients lived in mud huts with no furniture. They sat on the floor and slept on the floor with no mattresses. I was fighting back tears all the time. It was a very profound experience. When available we would bring foam mattresses as well as the pain relief medication.”

Bridie has a strong spirituality and tells how she believes God has ‘placed me in all those different places’.

“I have come full circle, from a young staff nurse, moving through senior roles in management and I’m now enjoying a management- free role, savouring my relationship with patients, which is why I really wanted to become a nurse. My core motivation in nursing has always been to help others and I have also found personal fulfilment in a challenging, yet rewarding, career.”

She has ‘mixed emotions’ about retiring but is looking forward to spending more time with her daughters and grandchildren. Bridie is moving from her home in Muff to be closer to them.

She has, she says, ‘loved every minute’ of her career and volunteering and explains “If you love what you are doing you will never work another day.

“I’m profoundly thankful for the many opportunities I have been given to make a tangible difference in people’s lives. I have truly been blessed.”